Best of Breed, Thermometer
July 2, 2009
I was putting together a review on Kitchen Thermometers, when I found this review by “Cooking for Engineers”. It’s worth reading if you’re looking for a good kitchen thermometer:
Menu Engineering, Managing Puzzles
June 30, 2009
Following on from the “What is Menu Engineering” Post:
A “Puzzle” is a menu item that is classified as profitable but not popular using Menu Engineering techniques. This begs the question: “Why is this menu item not popular? How can we transform it into a Star?” In many cases engaging tactics to transform a Puzzle into a Star is a sound approach.
Some reasons why a menu item is not popular include:
- Price sensitivity/Value proposition – Is the item perceived as too expensive?
- Profile & Positioning – Is the item positioned poorly or not adequately described on the menu?
- Cultural Considerations – Are you trying to sell meat to vegetarians?
- Seasonality – Is this item more popular at different times of the year?
Tactics for transforming a Puzzle to a Star include:
- Change the description of the item
- Change the presentation of the item
- Change the location on the menu where the menu item appears
- Change the price of the item
- Offer the item as a special to increase its’ exposure
Finally, if all efforts to transform your Puzzle into a Star fail, it may be time to consider dumping it in favour of a more popular alternative.
5 Tips for Receiving Stock
June 26, 2009
1. Did you get what you paid for?
The first and most obvious tip is to check that you get everything you paid for. Often this is as simple as doing a quick count and checking items off against the delivery note or invoice.
While this seems obvious, take a look at your practices and you will be amazed at how often stock is received without checking it’s all there. Paying for stock you didn’t receive directly impacts your food margin.
2. Do a Quality Check
Make sure the stock you receive meets your expectations. Quality assessment can be made by visually inspection, feeling, smelling and/or tasting ingredients. Inspecting packaging for damages and checking “use-by” dates also ensure you get what you pay for.
Stock that is poor quality will impact the quality of the end product you present to your customer. Poor quality goods may also spoil faster, generating waste and eroding your profitability.
3. Reject Goods that don’t Measure-up
Rejecting stock that doesn’t measure-up communicates your quality expectations to your suppliers, setting the base-line for future transactions.
4. Minimize the time goods spend on the Loading Dock
Ensuring stock is put away promptly increases the life of perishables and reduces the likelihood of theft.
5. Did you get everything you ordered?
Often you need to know ASAP if an ingredient that was ordered didn’t arrive so that you can make alternative arrangements.
Menu Engineering, Managing Dogs
June 25, 2009
Following on from the “What is Menu Engineering” Post:
In the previous post we took a look at the Menu Engineering process. Menu Engineering provides an objective method of classifying menu items.
In this post we look at tactics for managing menu items classified as “Dogs”. Dogs are low profit and not popular when compared with other menu items.
The first and most obvious question is “why is this item on the menu?”. In many cases the smart approach is to swap this item out for a more popular and/or profitable Item. However, there may be cases when an item classified as a “Dog” is worth keeping.
In some cases a menu item may assist to position your establishment in the minds of your customers. For example an Eastern European restaurant may offer a Steak Tartare consisting of finely chopped raw fillet steak, served with raw egg and traditional accompaniments. This dish is expensive to produce and appeals to a relatively narrow segment of the market, but plays a part in defining the menu as Eastern European. In this scenario there may be a case to increase the price of the menu item to move it into the “Puzzle” classification.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the “Dog” classification is an indicator that the menu item can be removed from the menu.
Menu Engineering Model
June 23, 2009
Here’s a link to an Excel model I put together to assist with the Menu Engineering process.
Menu Engineering ModelThe model includes all the formulas to automatically classify your menu items based on popularity & profitability and is easy to use and extend (assuming basic Excel skills).
Please leave a comment if you found it useful.
What is Menu Engineering?
June 19, 2009
Engineering is not a term used frequently in the context of the food industry. Simply put “engineering” is about appling technical, scentific or mathmatical knowledge to get a desired outcome.
Menu Engineering is about taking a more structured approach to building and monitoring a menu.
There are two key measures required for Menu Engineering: the Contribution and Popularity of each Menu Item.
Contribution is the amount of money we make from a Menu Item. Assuming we have costed recipes, Contribution is calculated by subtracting the recipe cost from the sale price.
Populatrity is the number of a Menu Item sold in a given period as compared to other Menu Items. The sales numbers can be based on actual results from a point of sale system, or estimated/forecast sales.
Menu Items can be classified into the following groups using Contribution and Popularity:
- Stars - High Contribution & High Popularity
- Plough Horse - Low Contribution & High Popularity
- Puzzles - High Contribution & Low Popularity
- Dogs - Low Contribution & Low Popularity
These classifications provide a structured approach to plan, monitor & review menus.
Product Review – “My Weigh KD7000″ Kitchen Scale
June 18, 2009
It is always a pleasure to review a product you like and the “My Weigh KD7000″ is no exception. This product is functional, sturdy and simple to use.
With a large backlit display the KD7000 is easy to read and operate. The display and button panel are protected by a cover that can be removed for cleaning along with seamless construction to prevent liquid from damaging the electronics.
The KD7000 has all the usual functions such as “Tare” to reset the scale to zero, “Mode” to set the units of measure (g/kg/lb/oz) and “Hold” to store the current reading. Additionally it has facility to switch the backlight and auditory modes along with setting the auto-off behaviour (2min, 5min or manual). The 7kg (15.450 lb) capacity is adequate for most comercial kitchens and with a precision of +/- 1g (0.05 oz) it is suitable for all but the most delicate measurements.
Priced at about $40 USD the KD7000 is excellent value for money. The only drawback with the KD7000 is that it does not come with an AC adaptor. The power adaptor is an optional accessory for which you will pay an additional $5.
All things considered I have no hesitation in recommending the KD7000 for a typical commercial kitchen. 4.5 stars.
The Hawthorne Effect in the Kitchen
June 17, 2009
In 1955 a study on the impact of lighting levels on productivity found that workers became more productive, no matter what changes were made. The mere fact that the employees were being monitored was shown to impact behaviour.
I’m not suggesting we turn our kitchens discos by fluctuating the lighting levels. However, focusing on an issue can impact your team’s behaviour.
Our primary focus is often consumed by other such as logistics, staffing or just getting through the next sitting. Food cost is often forgotten on a day-to-day basis.
Regular stocktakes can demonstrate to your team that managing food cost is important. Better still, get your team involved, either directly in stock counts or by publishing the results on a period by period basis. By posting a graph of results in a prominent place in the kitchen (with or without a labeled axis depending on your level of comfort in disclosing your numbers) you are telling your team that food cost is important, you care if waste is out of control or staff meals are being abused.
10 ways to Reduce Food Cost
June 17, 2009
Ultimately there are only two ways to make a food business more profitable: you can increase sales or reduce cost. In a depressed economic environment increasing sales is challenging. The followng tips are proven methods of reducing food cost:
1. Measure It
“You can’t control what you don’t measure”. Regular stock takes provide a basis for the calculation of the “Cost of Goods Sold” (CoGS). CoGS are calculated using the following simple formula.
Opening Value + Purchases – Closing Value = CoGS
The CoGS as a percentage of Sales is a valuable measure for food cost control.
A spreadsheet can be used as a easy and cost effective solution for calculating Opening and Closing stock values and tracking purchases.
2. Shop Around
It is important to build a relationship with your suppliers, however it is also healthy to compare prices with competitors to ensure you are getting a good deal. Keeping a finger on the pulse of market prices by regular price comparisons can reduce food cost.
3. In-House Preparation
Preparing food in-house rather than purchasing pre-prepared ingredients can reduce food cost. There are a wide variety of pre-prepared ingredients available, from pre-cut vegetables to pre-made sauces. Typically pre-prepared ingredients are substantially more expensive than their raw ingredients.
There are a number of considerations when comparing pre-prepared with in-house preparation including:
- Labour cost
- Availability of suitably skilled staff
- Quality
4. Monitor Waste
Again: “You can’t control what you don’t measure”. There are a number of ways to montior waste including:
- Implementing a waste log
- Waste bin audits
- Wast collection and measurment
A balance between reasonable controls and controls that apply excessive overhead is required. It is often useful to implement controls as required (when food costs are out of control) and/or spot checks.
5. Portion Control
Food portions vary for a number of reasons including differences in staff practices and raw ingredient size fluctuations. Portion size variation can be minimised by employing tactics such as documenting standard recipes and measuring out portions prior to service.
6. Stock Rotation
Rotating stock not only improves the quality and consistancy of your end product but also reduces waste, reducing food cost. Labelling food with recieval date takes the guess work out of stock rotation.
7. Go Seasonal
The cost of vegetables varies greatly depending on seasons. Typically when produce is “in-season” there is a greater supply, so that demand is easily met, and the price decreases.
Fresh seasonal produce also lasts longer. The quality of produce that is in-season is usually better as it has not been stored for long periods or travelled great distances.
8. Cost It
Costing recipes/menus provides a baseline by which to compare actual costs. Without a yardstick there is no means to determine if food cost is too high or too low.
Accurately costed recipes also provide valuable information for sales mix analysis and menu engineering.
9. Planning
Effective planning can be used to purchase wisely and reduce waste. Sales estimates based on previous periods, same time last year sales, future bookings and special events can provide a basis to purchase adequate amounts, but not excessive stock.
10. Specials
Offering specials not only adds variety to the menu, but can be used to reduce food cost. By selecting specials with a low food cost, but high percieved value can reduce the overall food cost. Specials can also be used to move slow moving stock and reduce waste.
